Chelsea Should Prioritise Signing Nathan Aké When Transfer Ban Expires After Scout's Glowing Review

​There has been a lot of talk about what Chelsea should do when their transfer ban is inevitably lifted. 

Should they spend £100m on Jadon Sancho? How about £50m on Ben Chilwell? £70m on Moussa Dembélé? 

No, no and no. 

The man who Chelsea should focus their efforts on signing is Bournemouth defender Nathan Aké.

The Dutchman was heralded as one of the stars of the ​Chelsea youth academy after joining the club in 2011 but, after a criminally short spell in the first team, was shipped off to ​Bournemouth for £20m in 2017.

Since then, ​Aké has gone from strength to strength in the ​Premier League, and there is constant talk of big-money moves to the likes of ​Manchester United or ​Manchester City, while even ​Leicester City are thought to be ready to ​involve themselves in negotiations.

The idea of re-signing Aké is not exactly new, but Piet de Visser, scouting guru and assistant to owner Roman Abramovich, recently spoke to ​De Volkskrant about his wish to see Aké return to Stamford Bridge one day.

"Ake should have played for Chelsea by now. He's so good. How often does he not score with his head? He has timing and insight. I hope they buy him back. That boy is perfect for them and he has played with Lampard," he said.

De Telegraaf have previously reported on the presence of a €45m buy-back clause in the deal which saw Aké join Bournemouth. From a financial point of view, this would be an incredibly easy transfer to complete for Chelsea, who still have the huge wad of cash from the ​Eden Hazard sale burning a hole in their pocket.

Perhaps the finest eye for talent which Chelsea have ever seen, De Visser knows his stuff. Abramovich listens to his every word, and it doesn't seem too ludicrous to think that De Visser may have already suggested the idea of bringing Aké back.

At 24 years old, Aké is the perfect blend of youth and experience, and he would come in to help Chelsea strengthen in arguably their weakest position - defence.

The Blues have looked shaky for the majority of this season, and their apparent inability to defend set-pieces has been costly ever since Lampard's arrival. Bringing in Aké, who has been defending at an elite level in the Premier League since joining Bournemouth, is the obvious answer.

A centre-back by trade, Aké can even fill in on the left and as a defensive midfielder, so his versatility would make him an invaluable member of the squad.

Aké, who spent six years with the Blues, always looked ecstatic to throw on the shirt. In his 17 appearances, he appeared ready for the challenge, and you get the sense that Chelsea might not have to try too hard to convince him to come back.

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